The European Commission flatly denied on Tuesday claims by former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis that creditors monitoring Greece’s bailout also control the country’s tax agency. The Former Minister also blamed the Eurozone’s structure and policies for Greece’s large sovereign debt.

“On what Mr Varoufakis has been saying, the allegations that the Troika was controlling the general secretariat of public revenue are false and unfounded,” European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told a news briefing. “The general secretariat of public revenue is a quasi-independent entity, responsible for tax administration, that is formally part of the Finance Ministry,” Andreeva explained. “The Commission and IMF only provide technical assistance to the tax administration but certainly do not control [the agency],” she added. “Alleging that the Troika would be controlling the secretariat… is simply not true.”

Following his resignation on July 5, Varoufakis has made a series of extravagant statements, including a plan to hack Greek taxpayers’ accounts and create a parallel transaction system along with trying to return Greece to a national currency. Varoufakis has received a lot of fire from opposition parties for his statements and two Greek citizens filed lawsuits against him that the Supreme Court brought to the Greek Parliament.

According to Varoufakis, the scheme had to work in secret because the Greek tax agency “is fully and directly controlled by the Troika.” “It was not under the control of my Ministry… it was controlled by Brussels. The general secretariat is appointed, effectively, through a process that is Troika-controlled and the whole mechanism within,” he said.

“I don’t think the Commission will engage into looking at any conspiracy plans,” the European Commission spokeswoman said when asked about Varoufakis’ accusations.

The criminal trial of Golden Dawn MPs and dozens of supporters of the neofascist party was on Tuesday adjourned until September 8. The trial, which started on April 20, has focused mostly on procedural issues and on some assaults involving alleged GD members or supporters but not on the alleged implication of politicians in a series of crimes.

An appeals court prosecutor on Tuesday proposed that restrictions against Golden Dawn MP Nikos Michos, who has been under house arrest for the past two weeks, should be lifted. Earlier this month, a council of appeals court judges ruled that Michos should be transferred from Korydallos Prison to house arrest. Another GD MP, Dimitris Koukoutsis, also had his house arrest restrictions lifted.

Most of the other GD lawmakers, including party leader Nikos Michaloliakos, remain under house arrest but are allowed to attend parliamentary sessions.

The Golden Dawn trial has been postponed again. This must be AT LEAST the 8th postponement.

They keep postponing the trial because they have no evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever. Yes, Pavlos fyssas was killed, and yes any death of a human is a tragedy. But why wasn't there a trial against the people who murdered Fontoulis and Kapelonis? Whenever radical leftists kill someone it is okay. Whenever a white person kills someone all white people are racist, Nazis, white devils, privileged, etc. The rot runs deep all over the Western world.

The political treachery by the establishment parties following Tsipra’s sell out, and the almost universal agreement of all other parties who voted in favour of the 3rd memorandum have verified what many have been warning; the inevitable, but slow rise of Golden Dawn. Now that the Nationalists remain firm as the only anti-memorandum party in the Greek political arena, the Greek people are slowly starting to move closer and closer to the only real alternative for an independent Greece.

The latest polls, have capture some rather interesting voting changes following the signing of the 3rd memorandum. Zougla.gr has revealed that Golden Dawn received roughly 7% of the vote (similar to January election results) shortly before Tsipras folded to the International Loan sharks. After the signing of the 3rd memorandum, Golden Dawn has soared to 11%.

It is important for our readers to understand that this has happened while Golden Dawn’s leadership is almost consumed with the burden of the system’s kangaroo court, and without a single penny from the government, as legally required for any elected political party. The mainstream media has all but ignored the nationalists in an attempt to make it seem they don’t even exist, yet the people are still coming over in great numbers.

Of equal importance, is the sharp fall of Syriza voters, many of whom feel betrayed following their capitulation to the usurers, breaking all their pre-election promises in order to do so. While 61% of Greeks voted no in the latest referendum, only 28.6% of Greeks will now vote for Syriza in elections.

At this rate, Syriza’s plummeting popularity will mean that if elections come around in the near future, they will be forced into a coalition government with New Democracy is order to form government. Given that roughly a third of Syriza MPs are rebelling against Tsipras (who is threatening to call elections in order to replace them), this may be a very real possibility come the Greek Autumn. The result of this election would place Golden Dawn as National opposition, and almost but surely breaking the phony show trial allowing the nationalists to place all resources to pummel the cancerous system head on.

Golden Dawn chairman and his wife have been released from house arrest after serving 18 months in prison. Translation is by Golden Dawn Australia.

Quote:

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Michaloliako is now free from house arrest

Today, the Athenian Council of Appeal made a decision to lift Golden Dawn party leader Michaloliako from house arrest, showing once again that justice can prevail in even the most darkest of times. The Athens Court of Appeal, by decision of the EEA Joint Committee was forced to do what everyone knew would have to happen, and lift the illegal internment which expired after 18 month of being held without charge.

Other good news was a similar decision to release Eleni Zaroulia, Michaloliako’s wife and Golden Dawn MP for Athens, who is now free house arrest. Zaroulia was held for months under vague circumstances, which have all but collapsed even under the mildest legal scrutiny.

The Council of Appeals requires Michaloliako to report to the police department 3 times per months, within the limits of the Attica region, and consistent with the movements required as a political party leader. At the same time, all corrupt oligarchs, PASOK frauds, and other cheats who have been found to responsible for real crimes are allowed to circulate freely.

This is just another reminder of how little evidence the Golden Dawn show trial actually relies on, proving once again that the courts are abusing their judicial powers to draw out a legal proceeding to slow down the inevitable explosion of nationalism. The Greek people are fed up with the sell out Syriza internationalists, and the only anti-memorandum party that doesn’t play by the banksters rules has proven to be a threat to the usurers strangle hold on the nation.

Greece’s ruling party looks likely to will split in two after Thursday’s Central Committee emergency session saw the Left Platform accusing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of “shackling Greece with a bailout Memorandum.” Earlier in the meeting, Tsipras asked for party unity in order to implement the reforms required for a three-year, 86-billion-euro bailout program. Tsipras said that he needs the leftist votes in order to make the first leftist government in Greece succeed. Otherwise, he said, he would have to resort to a SYRIZA grass roots referendum with the question “euro or drachma?”

Left Platform leader Panagiotis Lafazanis replied: “How many referenda do we need? We had a referendum and we got 62%” Lafazanis went on to say that “Democracy is finished. The system of government in the country is the dictatorship of the euro.” The Left Platform leader also said that the alternative solution was never discussed and indirectly accused the government for making the euro currency into religious faith.

At the same time, Greek Parliament President Zoe Konstantopoulou — who also opposes the signing of the third bailout deal — said that “SYRIZA did not get a people’s mandate to shackle the country with a bailout memorandum.”
“It is the historic duty of the Left to protect the people and democracy… to protect the right to dream… to build a new, viable world,” Konstantopoulou said. “Protecting the constitution is not surrealism,” she also said, paraphrasing Tsipras’ statement that it is surreal that some SYRIZA MPs claim they support the government but they oppose its policies.

During the session, 17 members of the Central Committee resigned, claiming ideological differences with current party policy.

Comment: Thanasis Kourkoulas
The fight against Golden Dawn isn't over
July 22, 2015

The SYRIZA-led government's negotiations with the European blackmailers and the adoption of a third Memorandum of drastic austerity measures in return for talks on another bailout have overshadowed the continuing trial of Greece's fascist Golden Dawn party, which is accused of operating as a criminal organization. The trial--in which 69 Golden Dawn members, including 18 representatives in the previous Greek parliament, are defendants--was scheduled to begin in April, but was repeatedly postponed because of legal maneuvers. Korydallos Prison, where the trial is taking place in a specially designed courtroom, has been the site of several large protests mobilized by the left and anti-racists.

Thanasis Kourkoulas, a member of the socialist group Internationalist Workers Left (DEA) and the Expel Racism movement, explained the latest developments in the trial and made the case for bringing the anti-fascist struggle into the campaign against the austerity measures agreed to by the Greek government, in an article first published in French at the A l'encontre website and translated into English by Michele Hehn.

Immigrants lead a protest against Greek fascists of Golden Dawn

THE TRIAL against Golden Dawn for being a criminal organization--often postponed under various pretexts--has been decisive in suspending the actions of fascist vigilante groups. The anti-fascist movement has played a large role in this. Earlier governments and the legal system were unwilling to bring charges against the neo-Nazi organization. The latter was only made possible by anti-fascist protests on a massive scale following the death of antifascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, who was killed while leaving a bar in a suburb of Athens on September 18, 2013.

This shows that the political influence of Golden Dawn remains limited for the present. It drew 6.3 percent of the vote during the elections of 2015 as opposed to 9.4 percent during the elections for European parliament in 2014. Admittedly, there may be some holding back in talking to people administering polls. But the fascists' sympathizers do not dare to defend the organization in public.

The trial began within the walls of Korydallos Prison on April 20--a few months ago after a long waiting period. Over 60 members and leaders of Golden Dawn are implicated. This is where the challenges begin. The antifascist sentiment of a strong majority of society currently fails to find expression within political institutions or bodies. On the one hand, it should be found within the left, particularly within SYRIZA, but there are no public statements condemning Golden Dawn for its criminal acts. The sentiment should also be expressed, on the other hand, in the different democratic groups. But few attorneys have been mobilized--most of those who have been are close to the Greek Communist Party (KKE) and the smaller anti-capitalist alliance ANTARSYA.

There is clearly an underestimation of the danger represented by Golden Dawn in the current context. One effect of SYRIZA's electoral victory has also been to direct a great deal of attention to questions of government.
It is also important to know that several trials are in progress against supporters of Golden Dawn. In addition to this one in which they are charged with being members of a criminal organization, there are three others moving forward at the same time. They concern: one, the murder of antifascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas on September 17, 2013; two, the attempted murder against Egyptian fisherman in Perama near Athens in June 2012; and three, the attempted assassination of members of the PAME trade union and KKE, also in Perama, on September 12, 2013. The other trials are still in the discovery phase and won't begin in earnest until the beginning of September 2015.

THE RETREAT in the mobilization against fascism has enabled Golden Dawn to win an important point during this phase of the legal battle. The presence of the victims' lawyers will be limited to the trials where they are directly representing the injured parties. They are therefore prevented from presenting themselves as civil parties in the trial in which Golden Dawn is accused of being a criminal organization. This victory was won by an appeal made by Golden Dawn's lawyers that each trial be treated separately. It is nevertheless evident that all these trials are connected, given that the criminal activity of Golden Dawn consists principally of physical and lethal aggression against leftist militants and trade unionists.

Golden Dawn has also taken advantage of the current context to present itself as the sole anti-system party working toward a national resistance. It presents SYRIZA as being a traitor "to the nation" because a majority of its members signed a new Memorandum with the creditors. It also asserts that the entire political system is rotten, and that the charges against the leaders of Golden Dawn, its militants and the organization itself are motivated by its posture of opposition to the political system.

Until now, the majority of the population has not been convinced by these arguments. However, this may change with the new political phase opened by the third Memorandum. The Greek people have not yet been fully informed about the details of the new austerity measures. The resistance is therefore in its opening stages. From now on, the attitude of the left and the mass movements will play a crucial role in this regard. The essential question is linked to the ability of the radical left, whether it is part of SYRIZA or not, to energize and give expression to a mass movement.

Golden Dawn's military wing--its vigilante groups, repeatedly denounced for their use of weapons--has not taken to the streets since the organization was charged with being a criminal organization. For the immediate future, we are optimistic that Golden Dawn will be unable to gain a wider hearing in society.

Nevertheless, the danger is very real. It is therefore critical to include an anti-fascist dimension to every aspect of the anti-austerity fight and the struggles that follow it. We try to do this on a daily basis, not only in our trade union work, but also in our workplaces and communities. We also anticipate holding protests in front of the courthouses as soon as the trials enter their next phase. It is important that we widely publicize that Golden Dawn is not an organization against the system--that it supports capital and benefits from its relationship with Greece's rulers, in particular, with weapons manufacturers.

At present, Golden Dawn is unable to act openly in communities. Nevertheless, it reappeared yet again in the days preceding the passage of the last Memorandum. Its members had a small postering campaign against the privatization of the port of Piraeus. In fact, Golden Dawn did nothing against the Memorandum, even if its members in parliament voted against it. The press did not relay any information about its positions during the July 5 referendum. According to polls, only 40 percent of Golden Dawn voters voted "no" in the referendum. The most fascist core is more preoccupied with the nature of government--which it considers "Bolshevik"--than by the new austerity measures.

First published in French at the A l'encontre website. Translated into English by Michele Hehn